NEWSLETTER
April 2025

A few weeks ago, I attended part of a board meeting for my temple. Before business is conducted at these meetings, our rabbi talks a bit about the Torah portion for that week.

The Torah is made up of the first five books of the Bible – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deutoronomy. And, just as there is a weekly sermon in a church, each week there is a parshah, the Torah portion for that week. The topic. And the d’var Torah is the commentary on that section, that parshah.

The d’var Torah for this week (which is now a few weeks ago) is about the building of the Mishkan -- a portable sanctuary. Moses has left Egypt at this point and the Israelites are getting instruction on how to build this place of worship (which of course has to be moveable because the Israelites are nomadic before they reach Canaan).

OK, now I am getting to the part that I want to share!

There are specific instructions for building every part of this portable sanctuary. Even down to window construction. The windows on the Mishkan are to be narrow on the outside with a wide opening on the inside. Can you believe part of the Torah contains building codes -– so funny, right? The rabbi talked a bit about why the windows were constructed this way: to allow in as much light as possible -– to fill the inside of sanctuary with light.

But the interesting thing is that’s not how the windows on the Temple of Solomon were constructed. Now, we don’t have photographic proof -- we are referencing the Book of Kings here. But purportedly, the windows on Solomon’s temple were installed in the reverse. Narrow inside the sanctuary and wide on the exterior. Why?

Well, rabbis discuss these sorts of things quite a bit and the thought is that the Jews wanted to send the light from inside the temple out into the world.

Because the world needs so much light.

It got me thinking about some common instruction you might hear at the end of a yoga class. As you are headed toward rest, savasana, you’ll often hear a yoga instructor explain that you can rest with your palms down if you need to close yourself off from the world, heal, and feel grounded. Whereas, if you rest with your palms up, you are sending energy and light out into the world. Just like the windows.

A savasana footnote: there is no Sanskrit text discussing hands up or hands down and savasana really is a time for your body to rest and relax so your hand position should really be based on comfort. OK, my PSA is done.

Whether we think about giving or receiving energy in terms of palms up or palms down or window construction, we are energetic beings and there is a flow of energy from us to the outside world and vice versa. Sometimes we need to recharge, heal. We need to absorb energy. At those times, remember that the windows are narrow on the outside of the temple. So, maybe you need to close yourself off for a bit. Less engagement. Less social media. Less exposure. More quiet.

And then sometimes you may feel filled with light, brimming with energy and you have capacity. More than enough. These are the moments that you can envision wide exterior windows so you can share your light to the world. Because sharing your light lifts everyone up -– including YOU.

And we all need your light!💫

A Hole in One!

This 'Hole in One' video (filmed by my son, Joshua Kish, featuring his twin brother, Alexander Kish) is proof that sometimes you just know.

We had unseasonably warm weather a couple weeks ago -- which usually means we run to the minigolf course. We are pretty serious about minigolf. No random swinging. No extra strokes. There are clear, defined rules (that as a family we've made up) and we follow those rules!

So, right before this video is taken, Joshua says, "I think Alexander is going to get a hole-in-one. I'm filming this."

There is literally no reason for him to have thought 'This is hole-in-one time.' None of us were really playing that well. If you watch the video, you can see the ball is bouncing all over the place -- this is not the work of an expert mini-golfer (no offense, Alexander, I love you.)

And, yet, he decided to film just this one hole. He said afterwards, "I don't know -- I just had a feeling it was going to be a hole-in-one."

Sometimes, we have a feeling. To do something. Go somewhere. Make a call. Write an email. Send a text. Start a video at mini golf. And we can't really explain it. There's no real logic. Just a feeling.

Well, it's not nothing and it's not random. That 'feeling' is your dormant inner guidance system saying 'hello.' We tend to prefer rational thought to listening to our inner guidance system because we like to explain and defend our choices versus just following a feeling.

My suggestion: follow the feeling. Send the message, start the video. Follow it and let's just see what happens!

A Business I LOVE: Carrie Fitness!

"Muscle knows no age!"

~ Carrie Wightman

This may be the third time I've featured Carrie Fitness since I started sending out these newsletters nearly three years ago. Why?? I love Carrie's virtual workouts that much. I've also had several friends in the last month ask about the virtual workouts I do so I thought it was time for another feature!

Before all of my work became JOY, I was a fitness and yoga instructor. That's how I first met Carrie -- we were instructors at the same gym. I had never worked out at home before until COVID. Maybe a month into the pandemic, Carrie started offering daily fitness classes on Instagram for free. It was her way of staying sane and she wanted to help all the folks who had taken classes live or personal trained with her. She held almost daily classes for free for a year before she started charging for her platform.

I love virtual workouts. LOVE! I know they are not for everyone but, for me, they are a huge part of my life. I love that I can basically wear pjs and work out. I can do part of a workout if I don't have time for a full one. I can go the pace that my body needs that day and choose the workout that my body needs that day -- sometimes I want to really move and sometimes I need something slower. (As a bonus, I use my Swiffer stick as a bar for barre class, so sometimes I even feel compelled to swiffer the floors when I'm done!). The best part is really how much time I save. I simply don't have a couple hours -- well, ever -- to go to the gym or a yoga studio. I will at some point in my life, but right now my priorities are my kids and work. And that basically accounts for all of my time. I don't think I'd ever work out if I didn't do it at home in the pockets of time I have.

But here's what I love about Carrie's workouts specifically. Each one is different -- there is no repetition so you don't get bored. There's a wide variety of 'types' of workouts from pilates and barre to kettle bells and kick boxing. There's a strong emphasis on building strength and moving in a way that won't build up additional Cortisol in your body. AND, her workouts are very functional: Picking things up, rotation, the movements are designed to keep your body moving well in all directions. I find I have increased the range of motion in my shoulders, which has always been an issue for me, and I rarely have any joint pain any more -- something that plagued me as a fitness instructor.

So, here's how it works. Carrie offers daily classes on a private Instagram account. She provides the schedule for all her classes that week on Sunday so if you want to hop on live with her, you can. Otherwise, they are all recorded and you can do them when you have time (my go-to option!). You can check out Carrie Fitness by clicking the green button below.🤗

Check out Carrie Fitness here

And now for something new!!

A good friend of mine attended my Create the Life You Love Living Retreat in January and said, "My daughter would LOVE this! Would you consider doing a retreat for mothers and daughters??"

I gave it some thought and, having only boys at home, I thought if I'm going to pull this off, I need to chat with some mothers and daughters. So, I started conducting a series of interviews. When I mentioned to the girls that I could provide small cosmetic bags filled with goodies (or something else like a trinket dish or bracelet), the girls unanimously said, "We LOVE bags of good-smelling stuff!" A riot!

Then I asked the girls about trying out a sound bath -- any interest?? The best response I got was, "Oh, that sounds super boring. I would definitely fall asleep."

I kept a straight face. Took notes. And, yes, I have a really fun job!

From those interviews came the Wildflower Wishes Retreat! So, if you are a mom or caregiver to a 5th-8th grade girl and you'd love to spend a very special day together talking about what you both want more of in life, dancing, crafting, and roasting marshamllows over a bonfire (sans sound bath!), then check out the Wildflower Wishes Retreat!

I'd love to have you!🤍

Check out the Wildflower Wishes Retreat here!